A person who is aboard a transport facility, such as a train or the subway, may sometimes miss or overshoot his detraining station simply due to ignorance or if he should fall asleep on the way. To prevent overshooting, certain techniques have been proposed, including the following prior art, and referred to as Techniques (1) to (3).
(1) Techniques which use the Train Station Arrival Schedule at the Station of Destination (Detraining Station)
Examples of techniques which use the train station arrival schedule are laid out in Japanese Patents JP-5-2087-A (paragraphs 0012 and 0013, hereinafter, “Patent Document 1”) and JP-2002-178923-A (paragraphs 0064 to 0068, and FIGS. 11 to 14, hereinafter, “Patent Document 2”).
In Patent Documents 1 and 2, the user requests the schedule of arrival of a certain train at an entraining station or a detraining station based on a train timetable, and the arrival time announced to the user is calculated based on the time derived from the timetable and the current time acquired from an internal clock.
(2) Techniques for Detecting a Detraining Station by Means of an Announcement Received from a Signal Generator Installed on the Train
Techniques for detecting a detraining station by means of an announcement received from a signal generator installed on the train include, for example, Japanese Patents JP-5-284069-A (paragraphs 0006 to 0008, and FIGS. 1 and 3, hereinafter, “Patent Document 3”), JP-6-138821-A (paragraphs 0019 to 0022, 0026 to 0028 and FIG. 2, hereinafter, “Patent Document 4”), and JP-2002-67959-A (paragraphs 0017 to 0035, hereinafter, “Patent Document 5”). Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for announcing whether the transport facility is approaching a detraining station based on a code which shows a received station name and a pre-determined detraining station code, by using a receiver for receiving a code signal which shows the station name transmitted from a signal transmitting device installed inside the moving train.
Patent Document 4 discloses a technique for judging whether a certain station is the detraining station, based on pre-recorded information identifying the station of destination, by using a portable terminal device for receiving identification information regarding the station of destination transmitted by way of a transmitting means installed inside a running train or within the vicinity of a station.
Patent Document 5 discloses a technique for generating a warning based on pre-stored information regarding a detraining station, by using a portable terminal device for receiving information in respect of the station of destination transmitted from a station where the train has stopped by means of a transmitting device installed inside the carriage of the train.
(3) Techniques for Detecting a Detraining Station by Communicating with the Base Station of a Portable Telephone, Global Positioning System or the Like
Examples of techniques for detecting a detraining station by communicating with the base station of a portable telephone, Global Positioning System (GPS) or the like include, for example, Japanese Patents JP-5-37460-A (paragraphs 0012 to 0020, hereinafter, “Patent Document 6”), JP-9-23477-A (paragraphs 0034 to 0048, and FIGS. 1 to 8, hereinafter, “Patent Document 7”), JP-2002-204467-A (paragraphs 0008 to 0010, and FIGS. 1 to 3, hereinafter, “Patent Document 8”) and Japanese Patent No. 3206477 (paragraphs 0014 to 0040, hereinafter “Patent Document 9”).
Patent Document 6 discloses a technique for pre-recording in a wireless terminal, wireless base station area codes pertaining to the area which covers the detraining station, whereby the area codes sent through wireless electromagnetic waves from the wireless base station are received for announcing whether the transport facility is approaching a detraining (destination) station by comparing such codes with previously recorded area codes.
Patent Document 7 discloses a technique for pre-recording in a moving device, the name of the detraining station or the parameters of the base station within the vicinity of the detraining station, receiving the announcement of information on the station name or base station parameters transmitted from the base station, and informing the user that the transport facility is approaching the detraining station after making such a determination by comparing the information to be announced with recorded information.
Patent Document 8 discloses a technique applicable to a portable device for preventing a user from missing or overshooting the detraining station, by sending a warning before the transport facility arrives at the detraining station based on a signal received from a station ticket gate or a GPS.
Patent Document 9 discloses a technique using GPS for detecting the user's current position when a portable guide device is able to receive electromagnetic waves from a GPS, and if GPS reception is not possible, the user's current position may be detected by means of dead-reckoning navigation using a 3-axial gyro (acceleration sensor), and for displaying station information according to pre-stored route data and the user's current position.